"Another game of the year award...."

Opening statement: This is another ''Game of the Year Award'' for me, at least when it was made. Old fans of Freespace the original were looking for a dramatic conclusion, better graphics, better gameplay, and all of the things that made Freespace a classic. They were not dissapointed.

Graphics: 9/10

Though the graphics may not be as stunning as they might be today the huge ships really revolutionized this area. They took original Freespace ships and put in a few thousand more polygons. The backgrounds are stunning and some what romantic. Nothing beats flying through a nebula looking for God knows what. Needless to say it's cool and since the source code was released it has become fully modable. Looking forward to the robotech mod myself. The cutscenes (though not as good as starcraft's) are very well directed.

Sound: 10/10

Nice voice acting, explosions sound cool, and ship sounds. Each ship has its own sound effect, each laser has its own sound effect, each missile has its own sound effect. Volition certainly put a lot of effort in improving and adding sounds to the game. Music has always been cool. The ultimite bliss of flying through space, or the fast paced action music in the dead heat of battle. The sound of the shockwave is the victory music in this game, just don't get too close.

Gameplay: 9/10

Flight physics might seem unreal for space flying, but who the heck cares? Flying through unique systems and shooting down aliens covers this up. Briefing is cool as you get several chances to split the campaign on secret missions. Nothing quite beats looking at system maps and how we are going to invade the Shivans. The lockspeed feature helps track down enemies faster and kill them. The best thing is the desperate moments towards the end of the campaign. Freespace 2 also has the usual plot twists, shocking moments, and just plain cool cutscenes. Flying by the huge ships never gets old. Multiplayer is somewhat limited with about 16 players online at a time, the frustration of getting an account, the cheaters, and the apparent lag. I wouldn't try it if I were you unless you have much patience, a DSL or better connection, and a microphone. Modding is the key purpose of this game now, since the source code has been released. If you are a modder this is a must have.

Lasting Appeal: 9/10

You can only play the campaign so many times, just look for mods and campiagns. There are hundreds out there. Though I don't trust some of them because of viruses. But I am just paranoid. This should keep you playing for quite a while though.

BUY or BURN: BURN

Probably because of the games age, it doesn't really make a differance though. LIST PRICE: unknown (you just can't buy it many places since it stopped being produced).